Monthly Archive: July 2018

kitchen layout

home improvement / Interiors

July 24, 2018

Step By Step Guide To Choosing Flooring

Here’s a useful infographic from the folks over at Criterion Flooring:

His and Hers Bathroom Design – What to Include

home improvement / Interiors

July 23, 2018

His and Hers Bathroom Design – What to Include

Moving into your first home together is an exciting time. It’s only natural that you will want to put your own stamp on the place. For many couples moving in together for the first...

storage space

home improvement / Interiors

July 21, 2018

Innovative Ideas to Create Extra Space

Hand on heart, can you honestly say you have enough space in your home for all your belongings? It seems that no matter how big a house you live in there is always a...

No Room for a Nursery? Here’s How to Cope

home improvement

July 20, 2018

No Room for a Nursery? Here’s How to Cope

When it comes to babies, everyone has their own ideas of what works best. Experts recommend that babies sleep in the same room as their parents for at least the first six months of...

porcelain tiles in a beautiful kitchen

home improvement / Interiors / Property

July 6, 2018

Conservatory or Extension – Which is Best for Your Home?

No matter how much room you think you have in your home there can come a point, especially as your family grows, when it can feel like you simply don’t have enough space. Moving...

I think you'll agree that we all love our homes and love to improve them as much as we can. While the percentage of people who regularly do DIY has fallen in recent years that doesn't mean we are not interested in how our homes look – we are just less keen on doing the hard work ourselves. But whether you are a DIY fan who can turn their hand to anything or someone who prefers to sit back and let the decorator or interior designer work their magic we hope you will find some inspiration here.

If you are keen on colour or prefer neutrals, love natural beauty and texture, or super perfect finishes; whether you are an upcycler on a budget (I think that's many of us really) or able to splash out on designer items and beautiful unique art we are all drawn together by our love of all things in the home (and the garden too).

And if you are moving house we love to talk about that too – the excitement of a new place – new colours and finishes to choose, maybe some new furniture. And just the excitement of a new outlook from the windows, new plants sprouting in the garden (if you are lucky) and a new area to explore are reason enough to go through all the stress of the house buying process, packing up our things, entrusting them to a removals company or even shipping them off to self storage, and then unpacking all over again at the other end. But it is definitely worth it if you are fortunate enough to have found a better house for your needs and wants. And our pro tip about self storage if you do choose to use it for long-distance moves or simply to help with the logistics of the move is to use one that has a collection and delivery service. Whatever method of moving all your household possessions you choose to use don't forget to compare removals and storage prices and services from several different companies.

So why not read some of our posts and better still get involved by commenting and sharing…

It seems that Brits are still obsessed with owning their own homes even though the level of home ownership is now at its lowest level since 1986. We Brits love updating and improving our homes and you can’t really do that in a rented property – the most you can do if your rent is add some cushions and new bed linen. It’s also one of the reasons why 97% of older people want to stay in their own home and have either homecare or live-in care rather than go into a care home. However, “Generation Rent” is growing as more and more people are being forced to rent privately because they cannot save the level of deposit required as a down payment on a home of their own.

The large deposits now required by banks and other lenders make it hard even for those on a good salary and with sound personal finances to buy a home. Since the desire to own our own homes is still strong many young people are turning to parents, according to financial experts at Solution Loans, who will often act as guarantors for guarantor loans to raise a deposit. Or they will lend the cash for a deposit in order to provide their offspring with the security of home ownership

When you're updating and improving your home remember to consider your own health and the health of our environment and planet. This is the expert advice from my pal Eric over at Eric Land Mentoring and he knows his stuff about all thing eco-friendly.
Factor in easy ways to recycle, for instance; have a large compost area in the garden and rig up a water butt for watering plants. Make living healthily and in an eco-friendly way esier for yourself. Maybe even grow some of your own fruit and vegetables if that rocks your boat (have to say that it's hard work but ça vaut la peine)
The vast majority of people want to create a home for life, if they can. That's why so many older people want to stay in their own home (see www.liveincarehub.co.uk)and not move into a care home. So think about the future when creating a happy, healthy home.